A Complete Legal Education in Washington, D.C.

Located in Washington, D.C., The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law) is among the best choices you can make if your goal is to graduate with the skills — such as critical legal analysis, legal writing, and effective oral advocacy — that are essential to successful legal practice in the 21st century. Catholic Law is composed of collegial and compassionate students, academically distinguished and supportive faculty, and accomplished and well-connected alumni that stand ready to help today’s students reach their goals.

Individually and collectively, our students excel. They earn fellowships, externships, and scholarships; some also publish in law journals. Our Moot Court and Trial Teams earn accolades in competitions across the country. Catholic Law students advocate for live clients through our various legal clinics and externships, proving daily the truth of the ancient maxim: I do and I understand. Catholic Law’s Washington, D.C., location allows for year-round quality externship opportunities that those outside the district only have during summer breaks.

Catholic Law offers both full-time and part-time/evening J.D. programs designed to meet the needs of each student. With a tailored curriculum for each division, students can choose the track that fits best for them while still having a well-rounded, fully engaged law school experience.

With a small student-faculty ratio, professors go the extra mile to assist students — writing recommendations and making professional connections. Combined with an environment noted for camaraderie — where students want to see each other succeed — you have the foundation of an unforgettable law school experience.

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JD Program

Pursue Your JD in Washington, DC

Washington, DC, is the ideal setting for the study of law. As a student at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law), you are within easy reach of the enormously beneficial study, externship, and networking opportunities that come with earning a J.D. in the nation’s capital. Studying law in the nation’s capital affords students the chance to experience numerous aspects of the legal profession. Students can observe Capitol Hill in action, or earn class credit via externships with vital regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board, to name just a few.

Unlock Legal Expertise

The Catholic Law J.D. curriculum combines a strong theoretical foundation with sophisticated practical training. Students learn legal doctrine in intellectually challenging classes. They acquire real-world skills through clinical and experiential programs. The curriculum is informed by our commitment to human dignity, individual freedom, justice, and service to the poor. These values are integrated into the three components of our academic program: Course Requirements, Practice Areas, and Practical Training.

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Centers and Institutes

Center for Law and the Human Person

The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law aims to achieve distinction in the Catholic intellectual tradition and to promote the ideals of the dignity of each human person, respect for the inviolability of all human life, justice rooted in the common good, the recognition and protection of human rights as gifts of the Creator, care for the poor, the neglected, and the vulnerable, and the obligation of love for one another.

The Center for Law and the Human Person serves as our central resource for thinking about how these core commitments ought to inform the study, teaching, and practice of law. The Center will support relevant scholarly research and curricular development, emphasize student formation, and engage broader academic, professional, and public policy communities.

Center for Religious Liberty

The Center for Religious Liberty at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, is an academic center dedicated to the study and articulation of the Catholic approach to religious liberty as a fundamental human right for all persons, regardless of faith. This right is recognized by the United States Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Church's teaching in Dignitatis Humanae.

The Center will aim to increase discussion and understanding of these issues by hosting speakers, organizing conferences, awarding writing prizes, providing educational programming, and commenting on religious liberty issues in the public square.

Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

The Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) promotes scholarship that explores the relationship between the Catholic intellectual tradition and American constitutionalism. That tradition is deep and rich, including philosophical and theological accounts of law and politics by such figures as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. Although the Center’s primary focus is on theories of constitutional law, such as originalism, CIT’s ambit is broad and covers the relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition for constitutional history, doctrine, and other fields of study.

Separation of Powers Institute

The Separation of Powers Institute (SPI) promotes and hosts scholarship, student programs, and educational initiatives that examine the federal constitutional structure, with an emphasis on a historical understanding of the role of divided power in the preservation of “justice,” the “general welfare,” and “the blessings of liberty.” SPI will serve as a hub of academic research and debate on legal and constitutional questions related to the role of the three federal branches of government and the allocation of their role and functions within the federal constitutional system.

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Certificate Programs

Elevate Your Skills With A Certificate From Catholic Law

The Law School’s certificate programs encompass five vibrant and enriching areas of legal practice. Certification from any of these longstanding and highly regarded programs and institutes endorses the student as a specialist — a graduate who offers employers a level of subject mastery that is significantly beyond that which may be learned in the general J.D. curriculum.

Four of the Catholic Law’s certificate programs have a 25-year track record of producing industry leaders within their areas of legal specialization. Their reputation, reach, and influence have grown steadily over the years, opening limitless career doors and options for today’s students.

Comparative and International Law Institute
Compliance, Investigations, and Corporate Responsibility
Law and Public Policy Program
Law and Technology Institute
Securities Law Program

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Clinical Programs and Legal Externships

Gain Skills Through Real-World Experience

The commitment to ensuring that our graduates are practice-ready directs the Catholic Law experience. Recognizing that classwork and textbooks alone do not quite complete the transformation of student to lawyer, all academic programs include transition-to-practice requirements. Many also require participation in clinics, externships, trial or moot court teams, or other hands-on experience.

Through "live client" and simulated lawyering experiences, students learn practical trial techniques, research and writing skills, and other important lawyering skills, such as counseling, interviewing, negotiating, and mediating.

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Summer Abroad Programs

International Business and Trade Summer Law Program in Kraków Poland

Catholic University's joint venture with the Jagiellonian University in Kraków provides students with intensive training in law of the European Union and global aspects of modern trade, comparative perspectives on regulated industries and antitrust laws in the U.S. and the EU, international business transactions, and other substantive areas of law, international business transactions, and other substantive areas of law. Classes are conducted in English at the 14th-century Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe. Unlike most summer abroad programs, a number of English-speaking law students from Polish universities also participate. The Polish and American students attend classes together and participate in all co-curricular activities together. This cross-cultural aspect of the Kraków program is unique and has resulted in many lasting friendships and business contacts.

International Human Rights Summer Law Program in Rome, Italy*

This program allows students to earn four credits over an intensive three-week program of study. Because the program is concentrated in three weeks, from mid-May through the first week in June, students can pursue summer employment after the program is over. It also makes the program particularly accessible to evening students who are employed. During the three-week session, students will be able to select from a group of courses focusing on different aspects of human rights law. Formal study will be supplemented with visits to local legal institutions and organizations, as well as the opportunity to explore the city of Rome and enjoy some of Italy’s religious, cultural, and historic treasures.

*The Program is offered in even years and will take place again in Summer 2026.

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Journals, National Mock Trials Team, and Moot Court

Journals

The Columbus School of Law's strong co-curricular program includes two major student-edited publications: The Catholic University Law Review and The Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology (formerly known as The CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Policy).

Founded in 1950, The Catholic University Law Review is the flagship publication of the Columbus School of Law. The Law Review is dedicated to covering a wide variety of issues at the forefront of the legal profession from authors around the globe. The highly-competitive Law Review experience provides student editors and contributors with valuable skills to further prepare them for the legal careers that lie ahead of them.

The Journal of Law and Technology is for rising 2L day students and evening students who are interested in honing their writing and editing skills through a legal publication. Through Journal's focus on Law and Technology, students will gain insight into the most pressing and advanced legal issues relating to technology's impact on the law. Students will gain valuable bluebooking, writing, and editing skills that will allow them to stand out when applying for internships and jobs.

National Mock Trial Team and the Moot Court Association

As individual competitors or members of a National Mock Trial Team or Moot Court, Catholic Law students are at their best in the crucible of high-level competition as demonstrated by an impressive record of achievement over the past several years.

The National Mock Trial Team requires students to hone and demonstrate their advocacy skills by arguing motions, responding to opposing counsel, cross-examining witnesses, and delivering opening or closing statements in a realistic trial setting. In competition, students may deal with ethics, criminal justice, direct examination, or other aspects of the legal system. Teams compete in national events from California to Puerto Rico.
Moot Court Association is composed of second-and-third year students who share a strong interest in oral and written advocacy training in an appellate courtroom setting. The teams compete annually in nearly a dozen national and interschool competitions, covering topics such as securities law, telecommunications law, environmental law, and constitutional law, among others.

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Student Life

Student Organizations at Catholic Law

Student organizations are a significant part of the law school experience. With nearly 40 different organizations, ranging from professional interests to community service, students have multiple opportunities to get involved. Many students are involved with several groups.

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Career Placement and Bar Passage

Career Placement

Catholic Law's Office of Career and Professional Development's Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) is dedicated to assisting students in search of internship and externship opportunities during school, employment after graduation, and career advice for the rest of their lives. Staffed by career planning professionals with advanced degrees in law, the office provides individual and group counseling, workshops, panels, instructional materials, and job listings as well as activities that facilitate direct contact with prospective employers.

93.4% of Catholic Law's Class of 2023 were employed ten months after graduation in positions that are considered full-time, long-term Bar Passage Required or J.D. Advantage jobs. Catholic Law's employment numbers exceeded the national average for the class of 2023.

Catholic Law Bar Passage Rates

Ultimate bar passage is the passage rate of all graduates who sit for the bar within two years of graduation. The ultimate bar passage rate for Catholic Law's class of 2021 is 86.84%.

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Tuition and Aid

Whether you are a prospective student or a current student we are committed to providing you with friendly, comprehensive, and high-quality service. The Financial Aid Office at Catholic Law strives to provide supportive guidance through the sometimes daunting financial aid process to find the best options for our students.

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Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers

Catholic Law takes a holistic approach to reviewing applications, carefully evaluating each one in its entirety to determine an applicant’s suitability for admission. We understand that evaluating cumulative undergraduate GPAs and standardized test scores alone, will not fully capture an applicant’s potential. The Admissions Committee considers multiple factors to assess an applicant’s ability to excel in the study of law, develop leadership skills, and contribute to the educational experience of their peers. While grades and test scores are important, they are weighed alongside non-quantifiable factors to provide a comprehensive view of an applicant’s overall potential for the study of law.

Some of the factors that the Admissions Committee may take into consideration include; Percentile rank in undergraduate class, superior writing ability, substantial involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership skills, well-prepared and insightful personal statement, employment in undergraduate school while maintaining a high level of academic performance, substantial graduate work, substantial employment in a law-related position or position with a high degree of responsibility or intellectual stimulation, substantial involvement in volunteer community service activities in leadership positions, and any other relevant information concerning potential for the study of law.

Catholic Law follows a rolling admissions process, meaning applications are reviewed and considered as they are completed. Applicants are encouraged to apply early, with submissions opening as early as September 1. The review process begins in October, and decisions are typically issued 4 to 6 weeks after an application is completed. However, some applications may take longer than six weeks for a decision, and it’s not uncommon for applicants to be placed on a waitlist for consideration later in the spring or summer.

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